Calling All Writers **Updated**

Now that issue 23 has been published, its time to turn our attention towards Whotopia Issue 24, which will be the next issued published.  The theme for the issue is “time travel” in Doctor Who.

We’re looking for all sorts of articles related to the issues theme and if you’d like to contribute something – articles, reviews, opinion pieces, art work, drawings, or more – we’d welcome your submission. Or if you’d like further information drop us a line at our email address.

The deadline for submissions is MAY 15, 2012.

Please note we’ve extended the deadline to May 31, 2012.

We Want To Hear From Our Readers

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM OUR READERS!

Let’s hear from you! Starting this issue, we’ll be running an all new “Letters To The Editor” feature in “Whotopia”, and having said that, we want to hear from our readers. Drop us a note in care of our email address and tell us what you think on any topic relating to the fanzine, Doctor Whoin general, articles that have appeared in the zine – just about anything you’d like to share with us.

So start putting pens to paper, or fingers to keyboard and let’s hear from you.

We want to hear from you!

whotopia[@]whotopia.ca

REVIEW: The Man Who Never Was

With the next issue of Whotopia soon to be published, we thought we’d share a little something from the forthcoming issue with you. Issue 23 features our review panelists casting their eyes over the most recent season of Doctor Who as well as the final season of The Sarah Jane Adventures.  And with that in mind, we’d like to share Gary Phillips review of the final story of Season 5 of the Sarah Jane Adventures, “The Man Who Never Was”…

The final Sarah Jane Adventure is a light, yet exciting tale of business corruption, slavery, family ties and romance. Gareth Roberts combines a hitherto unseen penchant for high adventure (I’ve said before that The Shakespeare Code, 2007, and The Unicorn and the Wasp, 2008, were lost opportunities), with his undisputed talent for gentle comedy as so brilliantly witnessed in The Lodger (2010) and Closing Time (2011). The story is also helped by the fact that director Joss Agnew is, for once, on top form and eschews his usual penchant for banality to take the Sarah Jane Adventures out with a bang!

There is on Bannerman Road a certain amount of underlying family tension as Luke returns from university to meet his new ‘sister’ Sky. The fact that Luke went off to university is, to this reviewer, no great loss. As I have said in past reviews, Tommy Knight is more interested in medicine than acting, as is often shown by his bland and lacklustre performances. Yet, it is nice to have him return to Bannerman Road rather than be shipped off to university and be forgotten about.

Luke returns to the fold just as Sarah Jane has received an invitation to witness the rehearsal of the launch of the SerfBoard, a new laptop computer developed by the reclusive Joseph Serf (Mark Aiken). One wonders if Roberts ‘borrowed’ the name from the pseudonym used by Patrick McGoohan in directing The Prisoner episodes A Change of Mind and Many Happy Returns?

It goes without saying that Luke, Clyde, Rani and Sky tag along to the launch and meet Sarah Jane’s first editor, an elderly charmer called Lionel Carson played by veteran actor Peter Bowles. Bowles gives us a wonderful performance and the most likeable and endearing guest character to grace Sarah Jane Adventures since Phylidia Law’s wonderful Bea Nelson Stanley in Eye of the Gorgon.

I was deeply concerned by the casting of comedy actor James Dreyfus as Serf’s so-called Head of Publicity John Harrison, but Dreyfus makes a superb villain and Agnew keeps a tight reign upon his acting so that he gives us a memorable performance, coming over as both avaricious and cruel.

Harrison is a thoughtful manipulator and has constructed a full biography for Serf. It is a shame that at this juncture the story briefly drifts into cliché as, having gained an interview with Serf, Sarah Jane learns that Serf won’t shake hands “Because he has a peanut allergy” coos Harrison. “You might have been in a nutty environment” he continues. If Sarah Jane hasn’t been in a nutty environment previously then she certainly is now!!!!

The fact that Harrison is up to something is confirmed when, back in the attic at Bannerman Road, Clyde and Rani discover that the Serfboard is no more than an ordinary low-specification laptop. Rani doubts Clyde’s opinion, recalling the rackweed from the story The Gift. An endearing touch here is that Clyde briefly recalls Ellie from the previous story, The Curse of Clyde Langer.

The next scene is both surprising and puzzling. Snooping around Serf HQ, Sky and Luke discover a race of Jawa-like aliens pulling and pushing levers which operate Serf’s every facial and bodily movement. Okay, so Harrison is only human but you would think that he could have come up with something more sophisticated and push-button to operate his Serf hologram than a load of levers which look as though they died out in the early days of the Industrial Revolution. Then again, the levers and their operation are a far better indication that the aliens are slaves than any console or computer could have done.

An amusing moment in Serf’s Office follows as Serf intones: “I am the most amazing man you have ever seen!” Sarah Jane’s reply is blunt and loaded with innuendo: “I prefer something I can get hold of!”

At this point Harrison threatens Sarah Jane with an alien gun, but the real cliffhanger comes when Sky and Luke are discovered and the aliens are revealed to be one-eyed creatures. Rather like the Rills in Galaxy 4 (1965) despite their appearance the aliens are gentle enough creatures and Harrison controls them by activating a collar around their leader Plank’s (Dan Starkey) neck in much the same way as The Melkur/Master controlled Kassia in The Keeper of Traken (1981).

Harrison now admits that the SerfBoard is rubbish and is little more than profit making for him, a sly nod methinks to the bankers and businessmen who have ruined the European economy – good on you Gareth Roberts!!!! It’s a great pity, therefore, that this journey into hedonism is spoilt by the clichéd line Roberts affords Sarah Jane: “I am going to stop you.” Isn’t that what she has done with every villain in every story? Thankfully, in retort Harrison is awarded a line worthy of Dreyfus’ more camp characters: “What are you going to do? Hit me with your handbag?”

After this encounter Sarah Jane meets a Serf employee called Adrianna (Edyta Budnik) who initially accuses her of “hurting the little people”. This is soon sorted out and Adrianna and Sarah Jane agree to join forces to help the aliens, which we learn Harrison bought after their ship crashed in Asia, as there is (apparently) a black market in alien life forms – one notes here the manner in which Henry van Statten acquired his collection of aliens and alien artefacts in the 2005 Doctor Who story Dalek.

An insight into the growing relationship between Clyde and Rani comes from their infiltration of the premier of the SerfBoard as husband and wife journalists; and Clyde’s talent for comedy as he intones: “Do I look like a Trevor?!”

As this is the prematurely final story of the Sarah Jane Adventures it is nice to have a link to K9 as Mr Smith sets up a high-frequency signal with the instruction to grab Harrison’s pen. At this point Harrison’s cruelty reveals itself in much the same manner as that of Halpen (Tim McInnerny) in the Doctor Who story Planet of the Ood (2008) as he informs the aliens that they are working for their lives.

Excellent though it is, the story’s and the series’ climax comes over as a bit of a jumble. Whilst the aliens are on the roof with Sarah Jane and Adrianna, Clyde and Rani are operating Serf who gives the instruction, “Grab the pen!” which is, in turn, destroyed by Lionel Carson whom we haven’t seen since the SerfBoard press rehearsal at the start of the story. With a bit of help from Clyde and Rani, Serf admits that the board is rubbish and tells everyone to go home.

Sadly here Joss Agnew returns to mediocre form as the alien ship appears. As the aliens depart Harrison screams “No! I paid billions!” in such a manner that one is reminded of Anthony Ainley’s classic over-the-top lines “He dies!!!!! The Keeper Dies!!!! (The Keeper of Traken, 1981) and “My web!!! My Web!!!” (Castrovalva, 1982). Here, having had a splendid 45 minutes, Dreyfus and Agnew between them really let the side down.

The fact that Sarah Jane gives Adrianna a UNIT card and says that she is just what they need is a lovely touch and after two episodes of emotional uncertainty Luke gives Sky his room, making one wonder – if the series had continued – if he would have returned to Bannerman Road again.

The series ends with clips from past stories and a reminder that: “Life on Earth can be an adventure too.” And that: “The story goes on… forever”.

Following the intense The Curse of Clyde Langer, The Man Who Never Was is lighter in tone but still has a lot to say about business corruption and slavery, making it a pertinent, if sadly premature end to a series made in a way that kids TV hasn’t been made for years – the number of big name guest stars it attracted is proof of that. The story was exciting and colourful, and a fitting send-off to both an actress and a series that will be much missed.  9/10

Reviewed by Gary Phillips

Image copyright 2012 by Thomas Evans

c 2012 Whotopia – May not be reproduced in any format without the prior permission of the publisher

Reader Survey

We always like to hear from our readers, and in this particular instance, we’d really like to hear what you think of the most recent issue of Whotopia.  We’d very much appreciate if you could take 5 minutes of your time and answer our very short Readers Survey located here.  We’re looking to make a few changes to the zine, especially as we’re nearing the 25th issue mark, and we’d like to get your opinion on a few items.  Thanks.

Why I Don’t Go Out of my Way to Watch New Who Anymore

NOTE: This is a revised and updated version of an article which appeared in Whotopia 21.

My friend Pat and I were chatting on the telephone the other day like we always do and the subject of Doctor Who came up in our conversation.  I’d asked her if she had watched any more of the current season to which she replied that she hadn’t since watching the very first episode.  I wondered why and asked her and she basically explained that while she had downloaded all the episodes, it was partly because she hadn’t had anytime to sit down and watch them, but it was primarily because she just wasn’t that enthused about watching them.  I found that a bit odd cause both of us are long time fans and had always enjoyed the exploits of our favorite Time Lord.  But her comment that she wasn’t that enthused about watching them really made me think.  I wondered why?

It’s funny Pat saying that about the show cause I have to admit I’ve kind of been feeling the same way too of late.  Interesting that.  I mean, I can remember a time when I would go to great lengths to get a copy of the latest episode; and then when I did get the episode, all hell would break loose if you even tried to interrupt me during the course of watching a new episode.  So what’s changed?

Well, partly I think it’s because I’ve gotten older.  I’m not that young, enthusiastic, twenty-something fan I was when I first started watching Doctor Who.  That’s not to say that I’m still not enthusiastic or, as youthful despite now being in my early fifties, but I have to be honest in saying that I’m not as enthusiastic about the new series as I was for the original series.

Don’t get me wrong.  I still like Doctor Who.  I wouldn’t bother watching it if I didn’t.  I can only talk for myself, but for me personally, I’m not that overly crazy about the new series, (and I’m sure some of you reading this are getting ready to lynch me for saying that, but hear me out).  I’ll admit I’m very much more a fan of the original series. While on the whole I have enjoyed the new series, I don’t think it holds a candle to the original.  I sometimes find it hard to explain it to people when they ask why I don’t like the new series as much, but all I can tell you, I don’t think the new series is anything special.  It seems to be lacking something.

And before you say anything, yeah, I know the series is not being made for me, or the original fans.  It’s been made for the young, British, youthful audience of today, and for the general British television viewing audience.  The program makers are aiming the series at a completely different audience now.  I realize that and hey, you know, I can accept that.  But even saying that doesn’t mean that I can’t try to enjoy it, (and just because someone might say something negative about it, doesn’t mean they still aren’t a fan).   And, as I’ve said, on the whole, I don’t dislike the show.  If I didn’t like Doctor Who, I wouldn’t bother watching it.  But that still doesn’t answer why I’m not as enthused about the show as I use to be.

I think part of the problem for me is the new series is missing that certain charm and uniqueness that the original series had. It’s funny, but I was thinking about this the other day, and I find the new series comes across as very un-British and much more like every other American SF series out there. It’s become rather homogenized.  I think it’s lost the qualities that made it that unique British television series.  For example, if you go back and look at the original series on the whole, there was something very unique about Doctor Who.  There wasn’t anything on television like it at the time.  It was different.  The look of the show was different, the quality was different, and the stories were different.  There just wasn’t a program on the air like Doctor Who, and it didn’t matter whether it was in Britain, or Canada, or the USA.  There just wasn’t a show on the air like Doctor Who.

Take a look at the series today and I really do feel that it’s lost all those qualities that made it unique.  It’s become very generic and if you put it up against shows like Stargate SG1, or Battlestar Galactica, or Eureka, Doctor Who really isn’t that dissimilar to all of these shows.  In fact, it’s become very North American in its whole look and style.

Oh I love the fact that the show now has a big budget and that loads of time and energy and love is paid on it.  It deserves it.  But Doctor Who is very much homogenized now.  It’s generic.  It’s not unique.  Or if it still is, it just doesn’t seem like it to me anymore.

I’ve not seen any of the current season, so I can’t comment on the current season, but I honestly do like Matt Smith.  I think he makes a brilliant Doctor and I liked him the moment he stepped out of the TARDIS.  I also thought Tennant was good, but I really felt Eccleston was horribly miscast.

With regard to the series show runner, I appreciate the fact that RTD was the force behind making the new series the success it was, but RTD to me was the new JNT.  If you take a serious look at him and his overall style, RTD and JNT share an awful lot of similar traits.  Plus, I really do feel that as a writer, RTD is horribly over-rated. RTD relies far too much on cop-out endings, fan-wank scenarios and the “press the reset button” syndrome, all hallmarks in my opinion of a weak writer. As to Moffat, he is a very good writer, he’s written some of the best scripts for the series, but as the new show runner, I hate to say it, but I don’t think his era of the show has been anything special.  I think his attention is not one-hundred percent devoted to Doctor Who, especially now that he is also overseeing Sherlock as well.

I don’t know what to tell you beyond this.  Throughout this post, I’ve just tried to illustrate why I don’t go out of my way to watch Doctor Who anymore.  I’m sure there are some of you reading this that are ready to lynch me and are calling for my title as a fan to be stripped from me, but I’m not trying to bash the show or the people who make it.  I’m just offering up some reasons for why I’m not as in love with the series as I use to be.  I do like watching the show, but the last year or two I’ve just not been as hyped over it as I use to be.  Hmmmm, interesting that.

Take Our Reader Survey

We hope you enjoy the latest issue of Whotopia, in fact, after you’ve finished reading the issue, please take our short reader survey located here.

Episode Reviewers Needed

UPDATED!

Hi everyone.  Just a quick note to do a little begging for contributors.  The theme for issue 23 is “Matt Smith, the Story So Far” and we’re in need of three volunteers who’d like to review the following three episodes for us from the most recent series of Doctor Who:

• A Good Man Goes To War

Reviews will need to be a minimum of 650 words, no more than 1000 words, and you’ll need to rate that specific story 0-10 out of 10. 

 

Deadline for reviews to be submitted is July 31, 2011.

 

If you’re interested in reviewing one of these episodes, please drop us a line.

Vancouver Doctor Who Convention?

Hi all. We have a question for you, and before you answer yes or no, here’s a little background info.

It’s been years – well, the last Doctor Who event with a guest in the Vancouver area was A Day With Anneke Wills in the mid 1990s and before that Who Party West 3 in 1990 with Nicola Bryant, so its been at least 15-20 years since any kind of event was held locally. Anyway…

This question probably applies more to Canadian Doctor Who fans, and nearby American Who fans, but how many people would in theory be interested in attending a Doctor Who convention in Vancouver BC Canada? I know it would depend on the size, the guest(s) (if any), price and dates of the event, but if a Doctor Who convention was held in Vancouver, would you be interested in attending? Would anyone be interested in helping organize such an event? Would you attend a smaller event without a guest, or would you prefer it to be a larger event with a guest?

Nothing has been planned definitely yet, no dates set, nothing concrete and carved in stone. We’re just put the ‘feelers’ out to gage interest in the possibility of an event. Your thoughts on this is appreciated.  Drop us a line in care of the Whotopia editorial address whotopia[@]whotopia.ca and let us know what you think.

Sarah Jane Smith: First Among Companions

Sarah Jane Smith. Three words. One companion. One icon. No question. 

In 1973 (just think Life On Mars and you’ll get the picture), an investigative journalist by the name of Sarah Jane Smith joined the avuncular Third Doctor on his travels through time and space. Which meant another girl companion and another clutch of ‘what’s happening, Doctor?’ and ‘help, save me Doctor!’ alternately issued from scene to scene. 

Or did it? Well, in a word, no. In fact, Sarah Jane was a colossal departure from her predecessor, the hugely popular Jo Grant. Dear Jo was very much the maiden in distress, a role which Terrance Dicks, the then script editor, was more than happy to see continue. But the advent of feminism as more than a fringe movement helped to trigger something of a sea change in the assistant department. So it was then that, on the 15 December 1973, Elisabeth Sladen made her début as Sarah Jane Smith in Robert Holmes’ Season Eleven opener, The Time Warrior. Complete with a smart jacket and slacks, plus all the pluck of an up-and-coming freelance journo, Sarah Jane was the face of feminism for Doctor Who. 

Yet, if she’d simply been a bland, women’s rights mouthpiece I don’t imagine she’d have lasted for more than a season. Instead, Sarah Jane became the perfect all-round assistant, able to strike out on her own when needs must, and equally at home being rescued by the Doctor. 

It was Barry Letts who hit the nail squarely on the head when he observed that, whilst casting for a new girl assistant, the various contenders could either act frightened or brave – but not both at the same time. At least not until a pretty young brunette by the name of Elisabeth Sladen arrived on the scene, and showed that she could portray these conflicting emotions in the same moment (see The Hand of Fear DVD special feature ‘Changing Time: Living and Leaving Doctor Who’). That’s when Letts realised he had a potential candidate. For he’d cut the Gordian knot of casting an actress who could simultaneously please the feminists and appeal to the traditionalists – the perfect combination. 

Sladen’s acting dexterity came to fore right from the word go. For a start, she could hold her own in a more crowded TARDIS, confidently sharing scenes with Tom Baker’s newly-regenerated Fourth Doctor and Ian Marter’s newly-arrived Harry Sullivan. More, she dealt with all manner of character challenges. Robot (1974/75) is a case point. In the space of just four episodes she infiltrates Thinktank and the Scientific Reform Society; befriends Kettlewell’s robot; faces up to the cruel and calculating Hilda Winters; and even keeps her dignity intact during a King Kong-style capture. In short, Sladen’s performance is awesome. 

Further examples come thick and fast. The Ark in Space (1975) sees her bravely crawling through the narrowest of service tunnels to produce one of the best ever Doctor-companion exchanges; whilst an episode later she’s standing up to the torturous schemes of the sadistic Sontaran Field-Major Styre in The Sontaran Experiment (1975). Next up she develops the most touching rapport with the mutant Sevrin, in Genesis of the Daleks (1975). Which is to say nothing of her superb performance in The Brain of Morbius (1976). Just check out how she portrays the temporarily-blinded Sarah Jane – brilliant doesn’t cover it. Frightened and brave at the same time? Absolutely. 

Sladen was also a dab hand at raising up the characters around her. Her chemistry with Ian Marter, for example, was crucial in making Harry Sullivan a more rounded character, and not just a straight man to Tom Baker’s Harpo Marx. In fact, I’d venture to say that if Sarah Jane had been in TARDIS when Adric slipped aboard – as opposed to Lalla Ward’s rather aloof Romana – the young stowaway might have got off to a better start. 

And let’s not forget about the jelly babies. She was – if my watching of Robot serves me aright – the very first person to be offered a jelly baby by the Fourth Doctor. What a moment. I mean, the Fourth Doctor and his jelly baby-giving antics are iconic, and Sarah Jane was the first recipient. She almost deserves the title of icon for this alone. 

When she left the series after almost three years – making her the longest-standing companion until Tegan Jovanka – she was given an exit which has become one of the moments in Doctor Who. Dumped off unceremoniously by a Doctor doing his level best to avoid saying goodbye, Sarah Jane’s leaving is one of the most poignant in the series’ history. The emotional undertones in her final scene are unmissable; and the way in which the Doctor and Sarah Jane are quite clearly fighting back their feelings resoundingly demonstrates that Doctor Who pre-2005 did indeed see strong, emotional Doctor-companion relationships. 

Of course, that’s only half of her story. Fast-forward almost five years and Sarah Jane made an all-too brief comeback. It all came about when the idea of putting a certain robot dog out to grass became too much for the BBC merchandisers to stomach, or at least that’s my take on K9 and Company: A Girl’s Best Friend. The intrepid K9 needed an equally-iconic mistress or master with whom to team up, and that’s where Sarah Jane came in. Sadly, the idea wasn’t pursued beyond the pilot episode and Sarah Jane once more vanished from our screens until the 1983 anniversary special The Five Doctors, in which she was time scooped into the Death Zone to assist the Third Doctor, her ‘first’ Doctor. 

It was quite a wait after that for further news of the plucky reporter. And who didn’t cheer when the news was released that Series Two (2006) would see Sarah Jane make another cameo appearance, once more alongside K9, in School Reunion. It was at this point, I presume, that the cogs began to turn at the BBC for having another shot at a Sarah Jane-based spin-off series. Sure enough, a new serial aimed at the younger end of the Who audience, Sarah Jane Adventures, was launched on New Year’s Day 2007. Once more Sarah Jane was back on our screens and rapidly becoming a household name for a new generation of Whovians – or should that be ‘Sarah Janeans’? 

So, let’s tally up. First, she was the best gutsy girl/damsel in distress around – and arguably still is. Second, her chemistry with the Fourth Doctor was second to none. And last, but by no means least, some twenty years after the character was written out Sarah Jane is now the undisputed queen of the spin-off.

What a companion, what an actress, what an icon!

This article originally appeared in Whotopia Issue 19

What A Pile of *&%$*!

I recently had some free time in my schedule – well actually it was because I was sick with the flu – which allowed me to finally sit down and watch the last two episodes of Matt Smith’s debut season. I had no preconceived ideas or thoughts regarding the episodes; about all I knew of them was that they were the final two chapters in the story arc that had permeated the past season. I watched the two episodes back to back and ninety minutes later was done. What did I think?  Well… To be totally honest with you, I was extremely disappointed. My immediate reaction towards both episodes was “what a convoluted bunch of crap!”

I’m sorry if you don’t agree with that sentiment, but that’s how I felt after watching The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang. While I found the former to be a better episode than the latter, I really don’t think either episode was anything special. The scripts did contain some interesting bits, but overall the constant jumping back and forth in time and the overly complicated story plot did nothing more than confuse the viewer. I mean, what’s the point of putting the Doctor and his companions in peril, if five minutes later they can pop back in time and leave a message for themselves that something is going to happen so they can avoid it, and then change the outcome. From my understanding of the series, and from being a loyal viewer for almost 30 years now, this really isn’t supposed to happen. The whole thing reeks of lazy writing as well as negating the whole point of the Doctor travelling in time. If he can pop back five or ten minutes previously and warn himself about an upcoming event, then what prevents the Doctor from popping back and time and say, saving Gallifrey, or stopping Adric sacrificing himself? To me, this kind of story negates the whole premise of Doctor Who.

Those of you reading this probably already know how critical I was of the RTD era, and while we’ve had both a new lead actor in the role, new supporting characters and a complete change of production personnel behind the camera, I was looking forward to a new era of Doctor Who. Now having said that, I have to be honest with you, on the whole while Steven Moffat is seen as one of fandom’s favorite writers, I have to say that so far I really haven’t been that impressed with his work on the series since he’s taken over. The impression I’m getting is that while he remains a good writer overall, I think now that he’s an Executive Producer on the series, as well as the guiding force creatively behind the show, his attentions are being divided in too many directions and, as a result, his time for crafting excellent stories is being severely curtailed. Plus, I think also dividing his attentions between Doctor Who and Sherlock as well, has not helped, thus further taking away from the main show at hand – Doctor Who.

Too many fingers in too many pies and sooner or later something, or someone, is going to suffer, and I hate to say it, Doctor Who is suffering.

Please don’t get me wrong. I think Moffat is a fantastic writer, and he’s written some of the new series’ best stories. But I’m not entirely sure he is the best person to be heading the series. But  then again, neither was RTD.